At least 13 people were killed in police actions in August 2024. This is the deadliest month of police violence in 2024 so far and the deadliest since September 2022, when 13 people were also killed.

This brings the total number of people killed in police actions to at least 67 so far this year. These deaths include people who were directly killed by police, as in police shootings, and people who died during police deployments or in police custody.

At least seven people were killed in Canadian police actions in July 2024, nine people were killed in police actions in June, seven people in May, 11 people in April, 11 people in March, five people in February, and four people in January 2024. There were at least 97 police-involved deaths in Canada in 2023, while in 2022, there were at least 117 police-involved deaths.

Two of the victims in August have been identified as Indigenous people — a 31-year-old Clearwater River Dene Nation man and Hoss Lightning, a 15-year-old Samson Cree Nation boy. Police killed at least two teenagers in August.

Eight of the victims were identified as being in some type of mental health crisis, distress, or disorientation when police encountered them. Four people were shot and killed. Two people died in custody, and one person died during an arrest when they were tased. Two people died in falls with police present. Two people were killed in a police chase. One person was struck and killed by police driving a police vehicle. One person died during a police action.

The details below are based on police reports, reports from oversight agencies, and in some cases information from families. As always, because there are no formal, systemic mechanisms for documenting and reporting police killings publicly in Canada, all numbers presented for police-involved deaths represent an undercount. In addition to the known cases, there are instances of police-involved deaths that have no reporting.

August 2. Vancouver Police. Custody.

A man died shortly after being arrested by Vancouver Police Department (VPD) officers on August 2. The Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) reports, based on police claims, that at about 5:20 PM, VPD officers were flagged down for a man allegedly causing some sort of “disturbance” on the north side of East Hastings Street between Columbia and Carrall streets. VPD took the man into custody and shortly after he went into medical distress. Emergency Health Services and Vancouver Fire Services attended to provide medical aid, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.

No other details are currently available, including specific details of police actions before, during, and after the arrest. The nature of the “disturbance” to which police reportedly responded has also not been disclosed.

August 4. Service de Police de Trois-Rivières. Shooting.

Service de Police de Trois-Rivières officers shot and killed a man in the evening of August 4. The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) reports that police received a 911 call around 8 PM regarding a man apparently in mental health distress and acting erratically. Ten minutes after the call, officers reportedly arrived at the scene in a park near De Calonne Street and located a man on a public monument, allegedly holding something that police believed resembled an axe.

Officers claim they tried unsuccessfully to talk to the man, but he allegedly spoke only disjointedly. Police pepper sprayed the man several times and then fired a taser to subdue him.

More than an hour passed, then police opened fire on the man. Police claim the man moved toward the officers holding the item police believed to be an axe.

The man was reportedly shot at 9:25 PM. He was transported to hospital where he was declared dead.

None of the police claims have been confirmed publicly.

August 6. Toronto Police. Fall.

Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is investigating the death of a 33-year-old man in Toronto on the evening of August 6. According to the SIU, Toronto Police Service (TPS) officers were called about a man in distress on the Leaside Bridge near the Don Valley Parkway at approximately 9:15 PM. TPS officers reportedly arrived at the scene around 10:18 PM and spoke with the man. At some point in this interaction, the man allegedly jumped and fell to the ground below. Paramedics were called and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Numerous people in crisis have fallen to their deaths during police deployments in Canada. Police are not about care and are not the appropriate response to someone in mental health distress.

The SIU has appointed three investigators and one forensic investigator to examine the death.

August 8-9. Quebec City Police.

The BEI is investigating a person’s death during an intervention by the Quebec City Police Department (le Service de police de la Ville de Québec, SPVQ), on the night of August 8 to 9. It is reported that an operation involving the Tactical Intervention Group (GTI) was launched shortly after 8 PM regarding a man in distress who was allegedly armed in a residence on Boulevard Louis-XIV, in the borough of Charlesbourg.

Neighbours have reported that the tactical group arrived at the scene between 8:30 and 9 PM. Residents were told to go inside their homes. It was later announced that the BEI had been informed that one person was dead.

Very few details have been released publicly at this time. The BEI has assigned five investigators to examine the death.

August 14. Edmonton Police. Shooting.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating a fatal shooting by Edmonton Police Service (EPS) officers in southeast Edmonton in the morning of August 14. It is reported that at about 6 AM, EPS along with RCMP officers from the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit were executing a search warrant at a home in the area of 15th Avenue and 54th Street.

Police claim that when officers entered the home to speak with a man, he allegedly stabbed an EPS officer. Police officers fired their weapons striking the man. He was declared dead at the scene. One police officer was reportedly taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

No further details have been released publicly at this time.

August 15. South Simcoe Police. Shooting.

South Simcoe Police Service (SSPS) officers shot and killed a 19-year-old boy and seriously injured another 19-year-old boy, on the afternoon of August 15, 2024, in Innisfil, Ontario. The Special Investigations Unit reports that officers were called to a residence on Shoreview Drive around 3 PM regarding a family dispute. SSPS officers arrived and had some sort of undisclosed “interaction” with two 19-year-old boys outside the home. At some point, four officers discharged their firearms striking the boys.

Both victims suffered serious and life-threatening injuries and were transported to hospital. One was taken to hospital in Barrie, where he was later pronounced dead. The other was transported to a hospital in Toronto with critical injuries.

The SIU has assigned four investigators and two forensic investigators to examine the killing.

August 18. a Sûreté du Québec. Two Victims. Pursuit.

Two people were killed in a head-on collision during a Sûreté du Québec (SQ) pursuit on Highway 40 near Saint-Barthélemy in the Lanaudière region of Québec on August 18, 2024. The BEI reports that at around 2:40 PM, the SQ received a call about a “surveillance notice” issued by the Repentigny municipal police force regarding a “suspicious vehicle.”

Approximately 30 minutes later, a police officer reportedly located a vehicle they believed to be the one in question with two people inside heading eastbound on Highway 40 East in Lanoraie. Two patrol vehicles followed the vehicle reportedly without initially turning on their flashing lights. According to the BEI, “A few kilometres later, one of the officers turned on his flashing lights, but the vehicle continued eastbound. The pursued vehicle was reportedly driven the wrong way on the highway and according to a BEI statement, “collided with another vehicle, also with two people inside, at 157 km in Saint-Barthelémy.”

The two people in the pursued vehicle were killed. The two passengers in the second vehicle were transported to a hospital. Their lives are not believed to be in danger.

The reason for the surveillance notice that initiated the response has not been disclosed publicly by police.

The BEI has assigned six investigators to examine this case. The BEI is not an independent investigations unit and relies on other police forces for its investigations. In this case, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) will be working on the investigation.

August 26. Saguenay Police. Custody.

A person died in Saguenay Police Department custody in the early morning of August 26, on Racine Street, in the downtown area of ​​the Chicoutimi borough. The BEI reports that at approximately 2:44 AM, a call was made to 911 for a reportedly disorganized person. Police arrived at the scene around 2:49 AM. It is reported that at some point a person other than the person who was the subject of the 911 was handcuffed, allegedly for making threats towards police officers. This person then lost consciousness, and their death was confirmed at the scene.

Police are not about health and wellbeing. They are not the appropriate response for someone who is disorganized or in distress.

Four BEI investigators have been assigned to investigate the death.

August 27. Sherbrooke Police. Taser Arrest.

The BEI is investing the death of a person in crisis who was tased during an intervention by Sherbrooke Police Department (Service de police de Sherbrooke, SPS) officers on August 27. According to the BEI, there was a 911 call at approximately 5:21 PM regarding a noise complaint. A police officer reportedly arrived at the scene around 5:45 PM and made contact with the caller. The SPS mobile psychosocial intervention team then arrived at the scene and noticed a person in crisis inside their home. Police then entered that home. Once inside, they deployed a conducted energy weapon (taser) against the person. The person then lost consciousness, and the assistance of paramedics was requested. The person was taken to hospital and pronounced dead there.

Six BEI investigators have been assigned to investigate the death. The BEI is not an independent investigations unit, and they rely on other police forces for assistance in investigations. In this case the Sûreté du Québec (SQ, Quebec provincial police) will be involved in the investigation.

August 29. Saskatchewan RCMP. Vehicle Strike.

Saskatchewan RCMP struck and killed a 31-year-old Clearwater River Dene Nation man with a police vehicle on a grid road outside the northern community of Buffalo Narrows (about 490 kilometers northwest of Saskatoon) on August 29. It is reported that officers from the Buffalo Narrows detachment were responding to a call for service around 3:30 AM, travelling to Buffalo Narrows from nearby Turnor Lake. On the 909 grid road several kilometers from the junction with Highway 155, an RCMP officer struck a pedestrian. Paramedics arrived and declared the man dead at the scene.

August 30. Hoss Lightning. Wetaskiwin RCMP. Shooting.

Wetaskiwin RCMP shot and killed a 15-year-old resident of Samson Cree Nation, publicly identified as Hoss Lightning, on the morning of August 30. It is reported that at 12:28 AM, Wetaskiwin RCMP received notice of a 911 call in which the caller said individuals were following him and trying to kill him. At 1:22 AM, police located an individual on 56 Street and 37A Avenue in Wetaskiwin and approached him. Police claim the individual was in possession of several weapons, which officers were able to confiscate. Police then allege that some type of “a confrontation” occurred and two officers discharged their service firearms, striking the person.

EMS was called and transported the victim to hospital where he died.

No other details have been provided publicly by police, including what alleged weapons were confiscated.

August 31. Brampton Police. Fall.

Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit is investigating the death of a man during a Peel Regional Police intervention in Brampton on August 31. They report that at approximately 7:30 AM, a Peel Regional Police officer was traveling southbound on Highway 410 when he observed a man standing on the Steeles Avenue overpass. The officer went to the overpass to investigate further, while, at the same time, another individual had contacted police to report the man’s location. Upon arrival, the officer spoke with the man and a short time later the man fell from the overpass to the southbound lanes of the highway. He was struck by multiple vehicles and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Jeff Shantz is a long-time anti-authoritarian organizer, researcher, and writer who lives and works on Kwantlen, Katzie, and Semiahmoo territories (Surrey, British Columbia).

Please subscribe to The Media Co-op's newsletter!